Talk On A Pier
by KungFuPandaFanatic
Summary: "So many times have I walked passed you, only watching you from afar. Never again though." (All in Po's Pov)
The Pier, everyday I walk by it and I always see the same thing. I see her just sitting there, her feet dangling off the edge while her sight is on the sun that was usually setting. Oh sorry, I guess your a little lost by my words just now. Well, allow me to fill in the blanks for you my friends. You see, my name is Po Ping, a teenage panda who resides in a quite little town we like to call 'Peace', most likely cause most of the people who reside here are quite nice and generous. Not only that, but pretty much everyone knew each other by name, which helped a lot when it came to asking for help. However, there were two people in my town that people didn't really know all to well. These people resided in somewhat of a palace that resided on a mountain that over looked the town, one of them was a red panda whose name I believe was Shifu. I heard a little about him, he was some Kung fu master who won many battles but was also a strict man. That probably would explain why people don't go knocking on his door with gift baskets or even to say hi. But it was the other person who really drew MY attention, for the other person was a female tiger, around the same age as me and even went to the same school as me. Unlike me though, she seemed to accelerate at everything she did, all the way from getting every question right the teachers would ask of her. Most likely due to her strict father who I was assuming wanted her to do just study and nothing else. For a while I always saw her just leave school and head straight for home, not stopping anywhere or even taking in the sights.

That was until though I started to see her on my route home. As there is this little path I like to take home, where you can see the huge lake that's near our town and where you can watch the sun set, and as I said before, there is this pier that stretches about twenty feet from the shore into the lake. It's like any other, got stable poles with a light brown color from the wood used for it from the near by forest. The thing was though, the more I walked by her every day, just seeing her sitting on the edge by herself. The more I wanted to stop and talk to her, she intrigued me a lot, and I would be lying if I didn't have a little crush on her. Can you blame me though, she's smart, beautiful and from the little I have saw, quite sweet. But every time I took a step near the pier, I found my self to always stop before I could lead my feet down it. I was scared and nervous most of the time, feeling I shouldn't disturb the peace she always seemed to be having, that perhaps she wanted to be alone. That one day though changed all that, as I was walking down the path dressed in black sweats, with brown sandals, as well as a blue sweatshirt that had gold dragons on the sleeves of it. Turning my head to the right, I saw her sitting on the edge of the pier again. Her body covered with what seemed to be a red plain sweatshirt with black pants.

"Hmmmm, I wander what she thinks about." I thought curiously, wandering what goes on in her head. I continued on my way home, watching her but I stopped in my tracks when I walked a few feet past the pier.

"What?" I said, seeing the water beneath her ripple as if drops of water from above were falling on it. Looking to the sky, I saw nothing but clearness. Making sure though, I extended my right paw out.

"It's not raining." As my paw wasn't becoming wet or anything. Now canceling the possibility of rain out, my mind went to the next possible thing. Something I never saw her do before.

"Could she be...crying?" I asked, my voice dropping to a whisper. Walking back to the pier, I titled my head forward a little while I let my ears take in the surrounding sounds. While they picked up some rustling of trees, they picked up the light sounds of sobbing, she was indeed crying. My face slowly beginning to form into a confused yet sad one.

"What do I do?" I contemplated, looking at her and at the path. Feeling as though all the times I had passed her, if this was the one time I shouldn't and to take that leap forward. Looking down at my feet, I slowly moved my left foot forward and then my right.

"I have to see." I said, both of my feet now making their way down the pier. The more I drew closer to the tiger, my heart pounded while my stomach twisted and turned. I could feel my nervousness start to get to me, but I continued on my way, the sobbing of her becoming clearer and clearer. With that though, my footsteps became known to her. For when I was about but a few feet from her, she turned her head to me, allowing me to see her red eyes flowing with tears.

"Sorry, I don't mean to disturb you. I saw you crying, and uh wanted to make sure you were ok. I'm Po by the way." I told her with a smile on my face.

"I know who you are, we go to school together. You know who I am don't you," Her voice seeming as if she wanted me to leave.

"Your Tigress." I replied, putting my paws in my pockets."

"Correct, and since you know who I am you know I'm fine. So you can leave me alone." She turned away from me, leaving me a bit stunned.

"I don't think you are though, you seem distraught." I told her, walking ever so carefully more towards her. When I did this, she quickly turned her head back to me with anger.

"You don't know what I'm feeling. I don't need your pity panda," I became a little angry at this, I never seen her so hostile and I was shut trying to help.

"I don't give out pity. I like helping people and you need help. I could've just kept walking on by but I didn't Tigress, we may not know each other a whole lot or even a little. Even so, I know you do talk to people." I stated to her with a serious tone, looking down at her as she looked up at me.

"I don't have that luxury Po Ping, unlike you, my father has high expectations. He expects me to get an A on every single thing. Even when I do, he still complains to me, oh you can do better here or there. Do you know what that's like?" She asked angrily. My eyes seemed to lower at that question, in a way I do know what's that like.

"I do, not in the same way. But I do." I walked to the edge of the pier, taking a seat next to her.

"My father, he wants me to be a noodle maker. While I enjoy it a lot, I just don't feel like it's a path I want to follow. Yet, seeing him so happy when we cook together makes me wander, how he would feel if I told him? Perhaps your father is like that, I know he's strict from what I've heard but I think he wants you to follow in his footsteps. The only way I think he feels for you to do that is to not become side tract, am I correct?" I asked, turning to her curiously. Her face to seem to soften a bit from my words, maybe seeing I knew what she was talking about.

"Perhaps." Wiping away her tears, making me chuckle a little.

"Even if I'm not, what I'm trying to say is you sometimes have to see it from their point of view. But you also have to come to know yourself, know what you want to do with your life. Take me for example, I want to become a craftsman. I love creating work and hearing what people think on it," I told her, twiddling my paws together. Not believing I was talking so much with her.

"A craftsman you say? Interesting, I myself want to become a writer." Her voice now coming back to normal.

"A writer? That sounds very awesome, what do you like to write about?" I asked, wanting to hear more on her passion.

"This may sound silly, but I want to write r-romance stories. I'm just fascinated with the concept of love and how one person can devote their lives to someone. To actually trust one with your heart and life, it's something I myself hope to achieve in my life. However, like you said, my father wants me to follow the path of a warrior. While I do things like that, I write on the side, something he doesn't know about." I then saw her ears drop a little, while her smile that formed from her talk on love formed into a frown.

"If that's true, you should tell him. Show him your work and see what he says, it can never hurt to try you know." She then looked at me with an odd look.

"Maybe, we will see. Also, sorry for snapping at you at first. I'm not one who really makes friends, nor goes out and makes them. So, thanks for taking the time to talk with me." I nodded my head.

"No problem Tigress, it was fun to finally get to know you a little more." I said happily, looking ahead of me to see the sun setting which began to make the sky slowly become dark.

"Well, I better be getting home. Dad tends to worry if I'm not home by a certain time." As I stood up, which Tigress soon followed in suite.

"Mine to, even worse." She said with a laugh before turning to me to which I did the same.

"See you at school tomorrow Po." Extending her right paw to me.

"See you tomorrow Tigress. Oh and I would love to see some the stories your writing if you don't mind." I told her, slowly walking away from her.

"The same goes for what you've crafted." She said, I nodded my head before turning away from her. As I began to walk away from her, a big smile crept across my face while a warm feeling radiated in my body.

"I can already tell we are going to be good friends Tigress. Hopefully in time, maybe something more." I then made my way home, that thought repeating in my head continuously. Eventually, we did and what's more is that we followed the professions we wanted with our fathers blessings. I became a skilled craftsman in our town, creating figures and more for people. While my lovely Tigress published romance stories, her very first being a romance book called 'T.I.P.O' a story based on our love, and what stood out to me the most was the final quote in it. 'It was on this day, when the sky was orange and the lake was quite that a tiger and a panda found refuge in one another. That on that quite pier, a beautiful love and friendship blossomed, and will forever continue to.'

Hope you guys like it, tried to mix up what they wanted to do with their lives.


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